A PARTICIPATORY SURVEY AND INVENTORY OF TIMBER AND NON TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS OF THE TIKAR PLAIN A REPORT FOR IR1/CARPE ZAPFACK LOUIS UNIVERSITY OF YAOUNDÉ DEPARTMENT OF PLANT BIOLOGY & NGOBO NKONGO MARTINE IITA CAMEROUN Table of Contents A PARTICIPATORY SURVEY AND INVENTORY OF TIMBER AND NON TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS’ OF THE TIKAR PLAINS’ October 1999 ............................................................................. 5 ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................................... 5 I INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................ 6 I-1 BACKGROUND TO THE IR1/CARPE OBJECTIVES IN CAMEROON...................................... 6 I-2 1994 FORESTRY LAW................................................................................................................ 7 II BACKGROUND TO THE TIKAR PLAIN .................................................................................... 8 II-1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................ 8 II-2 CLIMATE ................................................................................................................................... 8 II-3 GEOMORPHOLOGY AND SOILS ............................................................................................. 9 II-4 VEGETATION............................................................................................................................ 9 II-5 SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND HUMAN PERSPECTIVES ............................................................. 10 III NON TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS....................................................................................... 13 III-1 SPECIES SELECTION ............................................................................................................ 13 III-2 GENERAL SPECIES ACCOUNTS .......................................................................................... 15 III-3 MEDICINAL PLANTS ............................................................................................................ 17 III-4 TIMBER PRODUCTS.............................................................................................................. 19 VI INVENTORY METHODOLOGY............................................................................................... 21 IV-1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 21 IV-2 LAYOUT OF BASE-LINE INVENTORY................................................................................ 21 IV-3 SLOPE CORRECTION............................................................................................................ 22 IV-4 DEMARCATION AND ENUMERATION............................................................................... 22 IV-5 REGENERATION ................................................................................................................... 23 IV-6 SITE SELECTION................................................................................................................... 24 IV-7 TRAINING AND SENSITISATION ........................................................................................ 26 IV-8 TASK ALLOCATION ............................................................................................................. 27 IV-9 DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................. 28 V RESULTS...................................................................................................................................... 28 V-1 LAND USE AND SYSTEMS DESCRIPTION .......................................................................... 30 V-2 NON TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS....................................................................................... 35 V-3 TIMBER SPECIES ................................................................................................................... 45 VI DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................. 50 VI-1 NTFP’s..................................................................................................................................... 50 VI-2 TIMBER SPECIES................................................................................................................... 51 VI-3 LEVELS OF EXPLOITATION AND PROSPECTS FOR VI-VI-4- DOMESTICATON OR SUBSTITUTION.............................................................................................................................. 52 VI-5- LAND CLEARANCE AND RESOURCE TNURE.................................................................. 54 VII RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................ 55 VII-1 RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................................... 55 VII-2 CRITICISMS .......................................................................................................................... 56 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................... 57 List of illustrations Table 1. NTFPs identified as being important (classified in order of importance to the inhabitants) Table 2. Important timber species found in the Plain Table 3. Ethnobotanical survey (entire Plain) Table 4. Most important plant families of the Tikar Plain Table 5. Summary of results of important NTFPs Table 6. Quantification of the forest in term of NTFPs Table 7. Harvestable rattans (including seedlings and juveniles) Table 8. Stocking of piper guineensis and Dioscorea spp. Table 9. Summery of Agroforestry status and domestication potential of selected NTFPs Figure 4. Size-class distribution for Ricinodendron heudelotii Figure 5. Size-class distribution for Tetrapleura tetraptera Figure 6. Size-class distribution for Voacanga africana Figure 7. Size-class distribution for Xylopia aethiopica Figure 8. Size-class distribution for Cola spp. Figure 9. Size-class distribution for Dacryodes edulis Figure 10. Size-class distribution for Annona senegalensis Figure 11. Size-class distribution for Elaeis guineesis Figure 12. Size-class distribution for Garcinia mannii Figure 13. Size-class distribution for Milicia excelsa Figure 14. Size-class distribution for Pycnanthus angolensis Figure 15. Size-class distribution for Terminalia superba Figure 16. Size-class distribution for Alstonia boonei Picture 1 : Extended effect of bush fire on the vegetation Picture 2: Extended effect of bush fire has rendered the place empty such that birds lack places or trees on which to built their nests Picture 3: The participants of the introducing meeting at Mandha’a Picture 4: Two important NTFPs of the Tikar Plain (above: Voacanga africana, below: Ricinodendron heudelotii) Picture 5: Traditional harvesting of the bark of Pethersianthus macrocarpus (the entire circumference of the tree is moved) List of acronyms CARPE Central African Programme for the Environment IR1 Intermediate Result 1 LFRMSs Local Forest Resource Management Systems NTFPs Non-Timber Forest Product DBH Diameter at Breast Height BA Basal Area GPS Global Positioning System PSP Permanent Sample Plot NGOs Non-Governmental Organisation NPEM National Plan for Environment Management NFAP National Forestry Action Plan PNVA National Plan for Agricultural Vulgarisation MINEF Ministry of Environment and Forest A PARTICIPATORY SURVEY AND INVENTORY OF TIMBER AND NON TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS OF THE TIKAR PLAIN October 1999 ABSTRACT The forest is a reservoir of biodiversity. Its destruction leads to the destruction of microclimates and consequently to the disappearance of plants and animal species. The carbon stock is also affected by the destruction of the forest. The stock of plant and animal species make up an important source of nutrition, human health and even a source of economic empowerment to an entire country hence their sustainable management is a duty of co-responsibility. Recent legislation in Cameroon now means that forested base communities can, with technical assistance from the state, manage and legally take control of their own forest resources i.e. setting up community forests. However this set up is hindered because of few field based efforts and lack of methodologies for the development of suitable management plans. Current work by CARPE has highlighted the potential of non-timber forest products to contribute to conservation and development initiatives when managed alongside timber resources. This present work presents the results of a participatory survey and inventory undertaken in the Tikar Plain. The second of such studies to be undertaken by IR1/CARPE in Cameroon. Based on the ethnobotanical survey and interviews, key timber and non-timber forest resources were identified and enumerated in three strategic villages. Using an application of the refined methodology of Charles M. Peters (1999). The results obtained enable us to have the rate of destruction of the timber and NTFPs in the Plain. The distribution of these different species is not uniform and most of the products signaled in the country as important do not appear in the local important